With NASA’s last space shuttle flight to resupply the International Space due in a matter of weeks, Congress is taking a harder look at preparations by the commercial spacecraft industry to start ferrying cargo to the orbiting laboratory in the near future.

Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, and other members of Congress pressed representatives from NASA and two major commercial spacecraft companies for greater openness about progress and problems besetting the effort as the United States prepares to rely more extensively on profit-making companies to service the space station in low earth orbit.

Space Shuttle Endeavour heads for orbit (NASA photo)

With the end of shuttle operations, NASA will be counting on the Russian Soyuz space program to ferry astronauts and cargo to the space station before U.S. commercial spacecraft are ready to take over some of those duties.

The space station is due to continue operations through 2020, requiring servicing missions by the Russians, commercial spacecraft and eventually a NASA replacement for the shuttle.

Commercial spacecraft companies have played a role in NASA’s space program for years but now the nation will be relying on firms such as Space Exploration Technologies known as SpaceX and Orbital Science Corporation known as Orbital for “critical services and support,” said Olson.

The lawmaker’s congressional district includes Houston’s Johnson Space Center.

“Prudent management and forthright accountability by all parties – Congress, NASA and the industry – is imperative,” Olson said. “It is imperative that we provide candid and factual status of program accomplishments and/or issues, so that they may be mitigated.”

Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Mississippi, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, similarly cautioned representatives from NASA and the two spaceflight firms.

“Too often, requests for information have been met with a veil of secrecy and claims of company proprietary information,” Palazzo warned. “I want to remind NASA and the commercial partners that you are spending taxpayer money, and lots of it. So you will not be exempt from oversight and financial scrutiny.”

Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall, chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, said he too is counting on NASA and the companies to be more forthright as the nation relies on them for a greater share of access to the space station and low earth orbit.

“It is my sincere hope and desire that they perform and meet their contract goals,” Hall said. “There is no Plan B if they encounter severe technical or schedule challenges, and I want them to succeed.”

Hall said he regretted “that there continues to be so much uncertainty about our nation’s ability to reliably get cargo to (the space) station with the final shuttle flight now less than two months away.”

NASA has spent $500 million since 2005 to support firms competing to provide commercial transportation to orbit. It already has spent another $466 million to contract cargo delivery services from private firms even though no demonstration flights to the space station have been completed.

NASA’s William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator of the space operations mission directorate, assured the committee that the two firms are making progress.

“NASA sees no reason to doubt either company’s ability to achieve its desired objectives – that of demonstrating commercial cargo delivery to and from (low earth orbit),” Gerstenmaier said. “Both partners have aggressive, success-oriented schedules, and are facing challenges typical of a spaceflight development program.”

Both companies have faced delays reaching milestones, the NASA official conceded. But these delays were “not unexpected,” and “have not required any additional NASA funding.”